We got what we deserved [knocked out]

I'm actually not too bothered that we lost to Chelsea. The harsh reality is that we just weren't good enough and didn't deserve to win.

I was surprised Benayoun & Torres weren't subbed earlier. Sure Torres scored a cool goal but he was largely anonymous throughout, and Benayoun who created the goal beautifully also had a terrible game.

Gerrard true to form [against the big teams] didn't perform well, while Alonso was average [again]. I'd high hopes that Riise would be eager to make up for his gaffe in the 1st leg but it seems he wasn't too bothered.

If it wasn't for the likes of Skrtel, Carragher, Mascherano & Reina we would've been torn apart completely. Last week I thought it might be a case of 3rd time lucky for Chelsea, this week I know they deserved it.

Dreaming of the Sheikh owning LFC

Not sure how much credence can be paid to this article from the Liverpool Daily Post. Unnamed mystical sources hardly inspire confidence. But it has given me considerable food for thought.

If the ruling Sheikh of Dubai were to take over LFC directly rather than using DIC as the investment vehicle, it would make things considerably easier for LFC to grow and develop. By not using DIC they don't need the more immediate [and large] returns on their investment. What does this mean for LFC ?

It would be a concrete statement of intent as to how serious they are about LFC. We'd have an owner who can plow real money into the club, which means progress on a new stadium and also be better able to finance the acquisitions of the players we need to secure the Premiership crown. What more could you ask for ?

Liverpool Home Kit for 2008-2010

And so it's finally arrived, the new home kit for the next couple of seasons (at least I hope so, unless our new 'custodians' intend on launching a new one every year).

I like the new design, think it's far more refined than our current one. As for the new goalkeeper jersey, that rocks, very cool :-)

The back of the shirt has an embroidered Liverbird, while the inner part of the collar has a Red & White chequered area inspired by the Kop. There's also an inscription "This is Anfield" on the shirt.

On a more positive note, our Ninja Skrtel

How awesome was Skrtel tonight, definitely man of the match, dominated the game against Chelsea. It's amazing how the lad has only been here a few months but has adapted so quickly to the game.

Both himself and Agger are blessed with pace, power and awareness. Carragher is going to have a real fight on his hands for a place in the team next season and I reckon we're going to have the best central defensive partnership in the Premiership as a result of that.

No need to condemn Riise, he'll come good

Just when Aurelio started stringing together some good performances, he goes and picks up a nasty groin injury (will miss what's left of the season). The injury paved the way for out of form Riise to come into the side.

Of course it was a terrible own goal to give away. Rather than condemning him, I think it would be better to let him walk straight back in to the side. He'll be the hungriest player on the pitch and we all know he can score a goal or two.

It's highly likely that Riise will be leaving LFC soon, and it would be a shame if people were to remember him because of this own goal (which they will if we don't make the final). He has been a fantastic servant for us over the years and fingers crossed he'll produce one of his trademark goals at Stamford Bridge [for us].

Can anyone recall some funny Rafa moments ?

While he doesn't hold an audience in the palm of his hand quite like Mourinho does. Rafa has an innate ability to come up with the goods in the humour department. It's not something which he's renowned for but he usually pulls a subtle cracker out of the bag every so often.

His most recent quip was regarding the knock which Hyypia sustained to his head against Fulham. Hyypia was dizzy so Rafa asked him if he'd seen the 3rd goal (clever!) and Hyypia just looked at him with a confused look ;-)

Another recent one was when he was quizzed about cricket and he joked about how no one knows the rules of the game or how can you explain to your wife you're going to a game and that you'll be back 5 days later. Can anyone else recall some humourous Rafa moments ? What's your favourite ?

Fourth spot is pretty much in the bag

I only saw highlights of todays game and despite Fulham not being top class opposition I was still thrilled with the progress of Lucas Leiva. He continues to impress and develop well. As for Mascherano, a true midfield general if ever I saw one, not since Souness have I seen one so good for LFC.

Todays win against Fulham has pretty much wrapped up fourth spot for us. We're 8 points clear with only 3 games to go. The implications of qualifying for next seasons Champions League are straight forward enough, we need the money so we can afford to sign a few more top class players and then mount a proper challenge in the Premiership next season. Despite a couple of rocky patches, we're finishing the season strongly, surely number 19 is only around the corner ?

How much of Hicks interview was all spin ?

Sitting there with his LFC mug and his people in the background wearing our shirts it seemed somewhat tacky or cheesy. The only point of the interview I imagine was to try and force Gillet & Parry to leave.

I doubt many fans really believe that if he were to buy out Gillet he would pump his own capital in and take the debt off the club and still finance the stadium. He points out that Gillet was the driving force behind the Klinsmann move, but so what that's water under the bridge. As for Parry he reiterated that things have been a disaster with him in charge (no news there). Offering Rafa a new contract seems more like common sense than anything.

It's all good and well for Hicks to say what he thinks the fans want to hear but all that's really needed is stability and forward motion for our club.

A birthday present for Rafa Benitez

Happy 48th birthday Rafa, good to see things turning around at the club, hope you'll be with us for many more years.

As I understand it the lads are holding off on presenting you with our birthday present for you until next month, I'm not sure what it is as no one will tell me. Please keep us all in the loop and let us know what it is ;-)

Respects for the 96 but still no justice yet

The 19th anniversary for the Hillsborough tragedy has arrived and still there's no 'justice' for the 96 yet. Here's the link for comprehensive coverage of it on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster
Also a YouTube video on the "Justice for the 96" protest :-

I wonder if the timing is perfect or terrible

Why now Mr. Hicks ? Is it because you want to have a top class negotiator in on time for the summer transfer window ? If so then all will be forgiven if Rafa gets all his top targets ;-)

But if that's not the case, could it not have waited until the end of the season to ask Parry to leave, were you upset that he sat next to Gillet at the Arsenal match (joking - no really) ? Don't leave us in the dark !

When can we expect to see some stability at OUR club, it's tiresome watching the off field antics dominant the media headlines.

EDIT: Here's an interesting article (LINK) where Hicks explains in more detail why he wants Parry out :-)

Can't really disagree with Voronin now

So it's been reported that Voronin has hit out at the city of Liverpool (LINK). But taking into consideration the things he told a Russian newspaper, it's hard to disagree :-

1) - It's hard to understand 'scouse accents' .... No sh*t, really ?
2) - He criticised the NHS .... Well that's fair game now ;-)
3) - He inferred that Liverpool was crime ridden .... Hardly a revelation that !

Typical media though, couldn't help themselves by condemning, criticising and complaining about him for saying that. As Dale Carnegie once put it, "any fool can criticise, condemn and complain, the problem is that most fools do".

The scoreline flattered us, but we're through

At 2-2, my heart sank briefly as I reminisced about '89 and contemplated the prospect of us getting knocked out by Arsenal. But any doubts I had were short lived. In the first half I thought we were very poor (we passed to their players more than our own) and the crowd was very subdued. It took a bullet header from Hyypia to liven things up for everyone.

Thankfully the 2nd half was much more enjoyable to watch, with Torres scoring yet another stunning goal and Babel completing it with a well taken goal also. Despite all the stick Kuyt gets, he was truly immense again tonight. As for Gerrard, he said it best himself in his interview "one of my worst performances in a Liverpool shirt". Overall I felt we deserved to win. Next up Chelski, hope it's not a case of 3rd time lucky for them though !

Damien Plessi was a very pleasant surprise

I knew Rafa would field a weakened team against Arsenal, but I didn't think for a second that he would give a starting berth to Plessi for his debut. I'd only seen him play for the reserves prior to today and alongside Insua, he looked most likely to make a first team breakthrough.

He's been likened to a young Patrick Vieri, but then again wasn't the same said for Momo Sissoko. Unlike Sissoko though, Plessi looks to be a far more accomplished passer of the ball. He looks a very good prospect and was very composed for his debut (especially given that 4th place is far from certain).

Hopefully he'll get many more chances to prove himself this season. With our shift to a 4-2-3-1 formation, there's room for another top class midfielder, who knows maybe Plessi can develop in to such a player.

Crouchie isn't happy and wants to leave

Despite being clearly out of favour this season, that hasn't stopped Crouchie from turning in some excellent performances for us. He's scored 8 goals and provided 4 assists in just 16 starts this season.

If his post match interview is anything to go by, then I think Crouchie wants to leave Liverpool, he just doesn't sound happy and was non-committal. He's far too good to be sitting on the bench week in / week out.

Shame himself and Torres never got much of a chance to forge a strike partnership, it would've been interesting to see how our 2 best strikers performed together given time. But I can't see that ever happening as a more permanent shift towards a 4-2-3-1 formation seems inevitable.

At least he's not content with life on bench

Scott Carson has made it clear that he doesn't want any more loan moves and wants a permanent move from Liverpool. He says he'd rather play in the Championship than sit on the bench in the Champions League.

Fair enough, I can respect an attitude like that, it's so much better than many players who will happily pick up a pay check and not play any football (I'll refrain from mentioning any names!).

I think Carson is a good keeper but is far from ready to be first choice for a top 4 side so a move would be good for him. We're bound to make a hefty profit on him, but lord only knows how much we get in the end.

Some excellent performers against Arsenal

Not only did some of the players have a great game but so did the referee. If ever there was a game of 2 halves, this was it. We looked to be in control for most of the first half, but Arsenal dominated the second half.

Fortunately all of our defenders had excellent games (can Skrtel get any better) as did Reina and particularly Kuyt (for both his defensive and offensive contributions). I wasn't surprised to see the ineffectual Babel taken off so early but was surprised Alonso (well off the pace) stayed on so late.

Arsenal can whinge as much as they like about their penalty claim (replays show minimal contact with a big dive) but the referee got it right. In fact the referee was spot on throughout the match (not often you see that). The score draw sets us up nicely for the return leg at Anfield :-)

Liverpool FC enters the cartoon market.

My Anfield can exclusively reveal that Liverpool FC has decided on a rather unique approach to diversifying their revenue base and further growing the LFC franchise around the world. Football is reaching saturation point and new supporters have to be found, what better way than to start attracting people when they're still babies (and highly impressionable).

Think about the logic behind creating an LFC cartoon series, when kids are very young, football is not as appealing as a cartoon. 

By targeting kids with a new cartoon series, LFC can create an emotional attachment with kids at a younger age, and possibly poaching potential supporters of other teams. 

I for one feel compelled to applaud the genius of such a move ;-)

Mr G + El Nino star in Redtoons...